Tablighi Jamaat radicalizing Islam: Indigenous Muslims, Assam

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The indigenous Muslims in Assam have completely distanced themselves from the Tablighi Jamaat’s ideology even as many of them are in favour of inculcating scientific temperament among the Jamaat’s members to prevent a repeat of the recent Nizamuddin Markaz incident.

Some of the mosques in Upper Assam’s Jorhat and Dibrugarh districts where majority of indigenous Muslims reside, have already banned entry of the Tablighi Jamaat’s members in view of the present COVID-19 scenario in the State.

“It is a very delicate issue now. We need to handle it sensibly. The ban on entry of the Tablighi Jamaat’s members into mosques cannot be permanent; and it will not solve the problem. The need of this hour is to educate, reform and inculcate a scientific temperament among the Jamaat members,” a prominent senior Muslim citizen in the city wishing anonymity said. He said there is a need to investigate to verify the allegations of ‘uncivilized behaviour’ and ‘unhygenic ways of living’ of the Jamaat’s members.

He, however, said that it has been seen in the recent years that the Tablighi Jamaat activists visit Muslim-inhabited areas in the State and preach an orthodox form of Islam which is alien to Assam.

According to the senior citizen, the Tablighi Jamaat activists have been preaching a puritanical form of Islam which prohibits participation in non-Muslim religious festivals and observation of certain rituals being followed by liberal Muslims such as visiting mazars and graveyards. He said that such a development has resulted in a section of Muslims, including a section of the indigenous ones, becoming orthodox and then getting radicalized.

“The religious leaders as well as the educated and young Muslims will have to come forward to prevent the Tablighi Jamaat from radicalizing the Islam religion. The Jamaat was created more than a century ago with a noble intention. But the lack of enlightened leadership of the Jamaat has forced its members to become orthodox,” the senior citizen added.

Dr Illias Ali, renowned surgeon and the man behind drafting the Assam’s population control policy, said that even though the recent religious congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz which resulted in spreading of the COVID-19 among the Tablighi Jamat’s members is highly condemnable, some vested interest groups are trying to communalize the issue.

The Sadou Asom Goria Moria Deshi Jatiya Parishad, the representative body of Assam’s 40 lakh indigenous Muslims, has demanded that the State Government must put in place a mechanism to monitor activities of the organization like the Tablighi Jamat.

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